What I’ve Recently Read, Plus Thoughts on Going Forward

It’s been a month. How is everyone doing? Life has been crazy for me. I’m moving from the home I grew up in and going to another state. A fresh new start. I’ll also be starting university at the end of the summer. I’m super excited. But I already know I won’t be reading much once school starts.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how reading and blogging aren’t enticing me as much as they used to. I’ve gone through slumps in the past purely because of burnout. But now that my life is going to dramatically change, I’ve had to think about managing my time going forward.

I still love reading and will always read voraciously, but with work and now college fast approaching, I find that while I do still read, I don’t have the time to devote to writing reviews. I do love blogging and it’s taught me incredibly useful skills that I am actively using at one of my jobs. Book blogging kept me sane while I was going through a rough patch and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I am blessed that I joined the book community and met and talked to other readers when I didn’t have any IRL friends who read the same types of books as me.

I plan to try to keep up posting at least once a month up until my third year blogging anniversary on August 24th, literally the week before I start classes. After the summer is over, though, I won’t promise anything. It seems like this will be the right timing to let go of The Leaning Tower of Tomes…

But until August 24th rolls around — here’s a look at what I’ve read in the past two months. I’ll admit, I have only read three books since I posted my review of Wild Orchid. And because I’m in the middle of packing, working two jobs, and getting my wisdom teeth out, I don’t know if I’ll be reading much of anything until I get settled in my new place. Still, I plan to read as much as I can over the summer.

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What I Read in April and May 2017:

  

Paper Girls, Vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Cliff Chiang, colors by Matt Wilson, letters by Jared K. Fletcher (Paper Girls, #2) | Image Comics, November 2016. Paperback, 128 pages.

• Maybe it’s because I read a physical copy, but I enjoyed Paper Girls, Volume 2 much more than Volume 1. The time-travel/alternate-worlds aspect was poppin’ and I felt much more invested in the mystery. ♥♥♥♥

The Legion of Regrettable Super Villains by Jon Morris | Quirk Books, March 2017. Hardcover, 256 pages. I received a copy from the publisher.

• Quirk Books publishes the most amazing coffee table books, that’s what I’ve decided. The Legion of Regrettable Super Villains is basically an encyclopedia of super villains from comics that weren’t so super. ♥♥♥

Monstress, Vol. 1 by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda, lettering by Rus Wooton (Monstress, collected, #1) | Image Comics, July 2016. Paperback, 202 pages.

• Now. THIS. Was quite something! Effing dark but so intriguing. I can see why it’s been so hyped. I didn’t love it with every ounce of my being (those cat info-dumps were tedious…), but I am definitely a fan of the story and artwork. Especially the artwork. ♥♥♥♥

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So that’s what I’ve been up to lately. There’s just been so much going on I haven’t been in the mood to sit down and read. Escaping into Korean drama land and K-pop is so much easier for my brain to handle these days. And, you know, the books I typically read are complex and dark fantasies. I just need a break.

See you next month!

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What was your favorite book you read in the past few months?
Have you read any of these books?
If not, do any of them pique your interest?
Comment below letting me know!

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Serpentine by Cindy Pon | Book Review

Serpentine by Cindy Pon. Serpentine, #1.

My copy: Month9Books, September 2015. Hardcover, 274 pages.

Source: Library.

Synopsis:

Inspired by the rich history of Chinese mythology, this sweeping fantasy is set in the ancient Kingdom of Xia and tells the coming of age story of Skybright, a young girl who worries about her growing otherness. As she turns 16, Skybright notices troubling changes. By day, she is a companion and handmaid to the youngest daughter of a very wealthy family. But nighttime brings with it a darkness that not even daybreak can quell. When her plight can no longer be denied, Skybright learns that despite a dark destiny, she must struggle to retain her sense of self – even as she falls in love for the first time.

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Friendship. Skybright, the heroine of the story, is best friends, practically sisters, with Zhen Ni, who she helps as a handmaiden. The girls share an incredibly strong bond, having grown up together. It’s a friendship full of love in a totally platonic way. They’re just two girls who would fight the world and the underworld for each other. They do have their bumps and rough patches, especially when another girl comes into the picture, but I loved how much they genuinely cared about each other, and how they valued each other’s opinions. The only thing I didn’t like was the fact that Skybright didn’t feel secure enough to trust Zhen Ni with her big secret. I really believe Zhen Ni would have stood by Skybright’s side through all of her confusion regarding her serpent form, and I couldn’t believe that Skybright never confided in Zhen Ni.

Scorched by Jennifer L. Armentrout | Mini Review

Scorched by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Frigid, #2.

My copy: Spencer Hill Press, June 2015. Paperback, 238 pages.

Source: Library.

Read my review of Frigid, book #1, here.

Synopsis:

Sometimes life leaves a mark.

Most days, Andrea doesn’t know whether she wants to kiss Tanner or punch him in the gut. He is seriously hot, with legit bedroom eyes and that firefighter body of his, but he’s a major player, and they can’t get along for more than a handful of minutes. Until now.

Tanner knows he and Andrea have had an epic love/hate relationship for as long as he can remember, but he wants more love than hate from her. He wants her. Now. Tomorrow. But the more he gets to know her, the more it becomes obvious that Andrea has a problem. She’s teetering on the edge, and every time he tries to catch her, she slips through his fingers.

Andrea’s life is spiraling out of control, and it doesn’t matter that Tanner wants to save her, because when everything falls apart and she’s speeding toward rock bottom, only she can save herself.

Sometimes life makes you work for that happily ever after…

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Andrea and Tanner… these two are exhausting. Super entertaining, but so very tiring. Hot-cold, hot-cold… but it was interesting to read a romance where the characters annoyed the hell out of each other, played hard to get, and basically made it IMPOSSIBLE for the other person to know what the heck was going on. Jennifer L. Armentrout knows how to write romance well, and I love how she always adds something else in there that gives the characters real reasons for their crazy antics or that required “why we can’t be together/poor communication” phase.

Scorched in a companion to Frigid, which featured Sydney and Kyler. I liked Frigid more than Scorched, but I ate Scorched up in one sitting, as I do for all of JLA’s books. It’s fast-paced, sexy, but also down to earth and really touching. If you like New Adult romances and you haven’t read any JLA (or J. Lynn, as she sometimes goes by), give these books a shot. I like JLA’s books because they have real meat to them, usually due to the characters, and I’ve tried other NA books that never left a lasting impression. Scorched is definitely hot, so keep a little hand fan nearby for when the tension heightens. ♦

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Have you read Scorched?
If you haven’t, would you be interested to?
What’s a fun romance you read in one sitting?
Comment below letting me know!

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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley | Mini-Review

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

My copy: Daily Lit email installments.

Source: Daily Lit.

Synopsis:

Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein when she was only eighteen. At once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of committed science student Victor Frankenstein. Obsessed with discovering the cause of generation and life and bestowing animation upon lifeless matter, Frankenstein assembles a human being from stolen body parts but; upon bringing it to life, he recoils in horror at the creature’s hideousness. Tormented by isolation and loneliness, the once-innocent creature turns to evil and unleashes a campaign of murderous revenge against his creator, Frankenstein.

Frankenstein, an instant bestseller and an important ancestor of both the horror and science fiction genres, not only tells a terrifying story, but also raises profound, disturbing questions about the very nature of life and the place of humankind within the cosmos: What does it mean to be human? What responsibilities do we have to each other? How far can we go in tampering with Nature? In our age, filled with news of organ donation genetic engineering, and bio-terrorism, these questions are more relevant than ever.

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Thoughts on Frankenstein:

I’ll admit, it took me a bit to start liking this story, but once the monster was animated, I started to enjoy it. The monster’s experiences and questions about life and living were fascinating to read about, and the themes about responsibility, dangerous knowledge, and power of creation were prevalent throughout.

I’ll admit, I skimmed from time to time, especially toward the last third of the book. (I was just trying to finish it because I’d been reading it without much forward momentum for so long.) But it was not hard to read at all, like some classics can be. The structure was a little all-over-the-place with prose and letters mixed together, and I was hardly scared by this “gothic horror” novel.

I never really felt for any of the characters, although I was very moved by the monster’s beautiful and eloquent speech. His story about observing a family and interacting with them was heartbreaking. Often when I read classics, there is a single scene or a few scenes that really grip me and make me appreciate the writing that has stood the test of time. That was the part of Frankenstein I really liked and will remember. ♦

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Have you read Frankenstein?
If you haven’t, would you be interested to?
What’s the last classic you read?
Comment below letting me know!

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Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History by Sam Maggs | Book Review

Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History by Sam Maggs.

My copy: Quirk Books, October 4th, 2016. ARC (review copy), 240 pages.

Source: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Quirk Books!

About the book:

Ever heard of Allied spy Noor Inayat Khan, a Muslim woman whom the Nazis considered “highly dangerous”? Or German painter and entomologist Maria Sibylla Merian, who planned and embarked on the world’s first scientific expedition? How about Huang Daopo, the inventor who fled an abusive child marriage only to revolutionize textile production in China?

Women have always been able to change the world, even when they didn’t get the credit. In Wonder Women, author Sam Maggs introduces you to pioneering female scientists, engineers, mathematicians, adventurers, and inventors—each profile a study in passion, smarts, and stickto-itiveness, complete with portraits by Google doodler Sophia Foster-Dimino, an extensive bibliography, and a guide to present-day women-centric STEM organizations.

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Women in history had it hard. Women today still do, but it is thanks to these pioneers of their gender and generation that we can freely attend college, study STEM, travel the globe, fly planes, wear pants, and climb mountains, among other things that were unheard of for women even just a century ago.

The Crown by Kiera Cass | Book Review

The Crown by Kiera Cass. The Selection, #5.

My copy: HarperTeen (Harper Collins Publishers), May 2016. Hardcover, 278 pages.

Source: Library.

Read my review of The Heir, book #4, here.

Synopsis:

When Eadlyn became the first princess of Illéa to hold her own Selection, she didn’t think she would fall in love with any of her thirty-five suitors. She spent the first few weeks of the competition counting down the days until she could send them all home. But as events at the palace force Eadlyn even further into the spotlight, she realizes that she might not be content remaining alone.

Eadlyn still isn’t sure she’ll find the fairytale ending her parents did twenty years ago. But sometimes the heart has a way of surprising you…and soon Eadlyn must make a choice that feels more impossible—and more important—than she ever imagined.

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Hi, yes, I’m still alive. Sorry for the lack of action on the blog, but life’s been stressful and I haven’t been reading much lately. However, I did read The Crown, so here are some quick thoughts on it:

• Total fluff. So illogical. Doesn’t even try to be creative. But still so addictive! I read this in one sitting, as I normally do with Kiera Cass’s books.
• I mean, it’s pretty obvious who Eadlyn’s going to choose, right? Of the Elite who are left, I actually liked all of them, but I wish Eadlyn had actually tried to get to know them all even more. Things just flew by so fast.
• I didn’t find Eadlyn as annoying as she was in The Heir. She still wasn’t my favorite character, but at least I wasn’t rolling my eyes every ten seconds. She’s aware of her snobby, bossy ways, and at least tries to change. Girl’s got a lot of work to do, but at least she was trying to become a better person. Eadlyn wins points here.
• America and Maxon moments are adorable. I needed more of them because they had the only real, deep relationship going on here. The romance concerning Eadlyn was just so fast and abrupt.
• This dystopian government is just all kinds of unrealistic. Don’t think too hard about it because you will see all the ways such a system would never work.
• The political sub-plot was just… bad. So obvious and so obviously thrown in there. It could have been actually very interesting, but any attempt at fleshing it out was not there.
• It sounds like I have only complaints for The Crown, but I did enjoy it. The Selection series is fun and addictive, but it’s not great by any means. Still, pretty dresses and lots of cute boys and sweet kisses wrapped up in an easy and fast-to-read story works for me. ♦

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Have you read The Crown?
If you haven’t, would you be interested to?
What’s a princess series you’ve read and recommend?
Comment below letting me know!

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Ask Me How I Got Here by Christine Heppermann | Book Review

Ask Me How I Got Here by Christine Heppermann.

My copy: Greenwillow Books (Harper Collins Publishers), May 2016. ARC, 225 pages.

Source: Courtesy of the freebie ARC shelf at my local bookstore!

Synopsis:

From the author of the acclaimed Poisoned Apples comes a novel in verse about a young woman and the aftermath of a life-altering decision. This thought-provoking and sophisticated read further confirms Christine Heppermann as an important voice in the tradition of Ellen Hopkins, Laurie Halse Anderson, and A. S. King.

Addie has always known what she was running toward. In cross-country, in life, in love. Until she and her boyfriend—her sensitive, good-guy boyfriend—are careless one night and she ends up pregnant. Addie makes the difficult choice to have an abortion. And after that—even though she knows it was the right decision for her—nothing is the same anymore. She doesn’t want anyone besides her parents and her boyfriend to know what happened; she doesn’t want to run cross-country; she can’t bring herself to be excited about anything. Until she reconnects with Juliana, a former teammate who’s going through her own dark places.

Once again, Christine Heppermann writes with an unflinching honesty and a deep sensitivity about the complexities of being a teenager, being a woman. Her free-verse poems are moving, provocative, and often full of wry humor and a sharp wit. Like Laurie Halse Anderson and Ellen Hopkins, Christine Heppermann is a voice to turn to for the truth of difficult subjects. Ask Me How I Got Here is a literary exploration of sexuality, religion, and self-discovery.

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While I haven’t read any A.S. King, I have read Ellen Hopkins and Laurie Halse Anderson. Ask Me How I Got Here does tackle serious teen issues in verse form, much like Ellen Hopkin’s writing style and Laurie Halse Anderson’s stories, but Ask Me How I Got Here lacks the depth it should have, and that I wanted it to have.

Sword Quest by Nancy Yi Fan | Book Review

Sword Quest by Nancy Yi Fan, illustrations by Jo-Anne Rioux. Swordbird, #2.

My copy: HarperTrophy (Harper Collins Publishers), January 2009. Paperback, 262 pages.

Source: Own.

Read my review of Swordbird, book #1, here.

Synopsis:

One magical sword. Two rivals.

Wind-voice the half-dove, formerly enslaved, is now free, and Maldeor, the one-winged archaeopteryx, hungers for supreme power. The adversaries will both embark on their own epic quest to find the sword that will determine the future of birdkind. An exciting prequel to the New York Times bestseller Swordbird.

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Sword Quest is the prequel to Swordbird, and tells the life of the dove Wind-voice before he became the legendary Swordbird. Nancy Yi Fan was about 14 when she penned Sword Quest, and, in a nutshell, Sword Quest is about, wait for it — bird-Jesus. It’s a stronger story than Swordbird by far, but still very cliche and juvenile, sorry to say.

Seconds by Bryan Lee O’Malley and Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks | Mini-Reviews

Mini-Reviews!

 

Seconds by Bryan Lee O’Malley,
with Jason Fischer (drawing assistant), Dustin Harbin (lettering), and Nathan Fairbairn (colorist)
&
Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks

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My brief Sailor Moon history thus far (or, A very loose book review of Sailor Moon, Vol. 1)

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Volume 1 by Naoko Takeuchi, translated by William Flanagan. Sailor Moon Renewal Editions, #1.

My copy: Kodansha Comics (Kodansha USA Publishing), September 2011. Paperback, 240 pages.

Source: Library.

Synopsis:

Usagi Tsukino is a normal girl until she meets up with Luna, a talking cat, who tells her that she is Sailor Moon. As Sailor Moon, Usagi must fight evils and enforce justice, in the name of the Moon and the mysterious Moon Princess. She meets other girls destined to be Sailor Senshi (Sailor Scouts), and together, they fight the forces of evil!

This new edition of Sailor Moon will feature:
-An entirely new, incredibly accurate translation!
-Japanese-style, right-to-left reading!
-New cover art never before seen in the U.S.!
-The original Japanese character names!
-Detailed translation notes!

This version of Sailor Moon will be completely true to original. Join us as Sailor Moon returns to the U.S. for the first time in years!

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(Well, it not’s really a strict review…
I’m using this “review” as an excuse to share my Sailor Moon life story with y’all.)

My first encounter with Sailor Moon was when I was a little kid perusing the (now obsolete) video and record store Tower Records. I spotted a VHS that had two Sailor Moon either episodes or movies on it, and my mom, knowing Sailor Moon was a fun, girly thing, bought it for me.